A Dance with Dragons - Chapter 41 - The Turncloak

From George RR Martin's "A Dance with Dragons."
If you like what you're hearing, be sure to check out my channel, where you can find all of my A Song of Ice and Fire recorded chapters in order in playlists! And leave a comment! I don't care about any youtube algorithm reach nonsense but I love hearing from people who are listening!
I am in no sense a professional reader, voice actor, or what have you. I began this audiobook project some years ago when some friends of mine jokingly said they'd read A Song of Ice and Fire (my favorite fantasy series) if I personally recorded the whole series in audiobook form and sent it to them. Having now made my way almost through the first two books in the series, I decided to join the small community of people who post their own amateur audibook readings to youtube, and share my efforts.
I have no intention of profiting off of the work that is copyrighted to George RR Martin. This upload is a tribute to a series I deeply love, and I strongly encourage you to purchase these books. You won't regret it.
Also I should give full credit to my cat, Claudio, for the frequent background meows and purring sounds you hear throughout.
Art by Cecilia Latella www.deviantart...

[@prometeya3700]

Brandon would have hated what Dustin's doing. His brother's bones are kept away like a treat from a dog. He would have despised her for that alone. Not to mention that she is badmouthing his sister.

[@Argos-xb8ek]

Brandon was a hothead that acted first and thought later. He seemed like a fun man to have as a friend and character with the way everyone talked about him. But Brandon was an issue

[@vanessasempireoftwigs198]

He was also a player, taking everyones maiden head and getting girls pregnant

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

Lady Barbrey Dustin strikes me as a real piece of work. But on the other hand, she's going to be talking some mad shit about the Freys in an upcoming chapter, so it's impossible to say whether we should like her or not.

[@brettthebest3978]

I think she has the right not liking Ned but I don’t think she hates the kids of Ned

[@oz4087]

I think she hates Boltons way more, since Ramsay killed Domeric Bolton her nephew that she realy loved, and Roose dint give a shit about that.

[@napolien1310]

She hates Ned because he didn't bring back her husband's bones and she have a right in that, but that doesn't mean she hate his children, I mean even tho she didn't marry Brandon and he took her first she is fond of him

[@vanessasempireoftwigs198]

Even if she hates the starks, well i still kinda like her 😂 we all enjoy the lannisters dont we?

[@nont18411]

I have a feeling that once the Boltons are dealt with, there will be a succession crisis of House Stark between Jon and Sansa and knowing that Lady Dustin kinda has a soft spot for the outcast, she will throw support for Jon.

[@jimboslice6367]

How badass if Howland Reed shows up to Winterfell with Robb’s letter AND Ned’s bones

[@PedroLucas-mg5je]

GRRM confirmed that Howland will be introduced in TWOW, so this is what'll likely happen!

[@KabbalahSherry]

@@PedroLucas-mg5je- Yessss! 😃💯

[@nickrobinson9806]

As the prologue… sorry Howie R!!!

[@nickrobinson9806]

Jk. I made that up

[@QperG]

​@PedroLucas-mg5je when did he confirm Howlands appearance? I thought he didn't do POV chapters with characters that know too much.

[@sands201]

21:48 I like how at first the dogs were a nuisance to Reek and he always had to fight them but then they came to like him. It’s kind of sweet, I assume in Reeks place the kindness from the dogs would be much appreciated considering everything else he was going through.

[@jorikrouwenhorst7220]

Would be cool if Ramsey's girl turn on him.

[@basedchimera5859]

The fact that Theon was 19 in a Clash of Kings and 20 now is important to me. Like same lol

[@EnderWarden]

I'm 20...

[@basedchimera5859]

@@EnderWarden i just meant hitting your twenties can really feel like a sack of bricks.

[@EnderWarden]

@@basedchimera5859 fr

[@Krushtykon]

You've barely started life

[@EnderWarden]

@@Krushtykon good

[@bellamaz1972]

I just realized: I could be mistaken, but I think this is the first time in many chapters - maybe even since Ramsey’s torture - that the POV narration for this character has used the name “Theon” ... perhaps a sign of very slow but eventual partial healing. Also, the restoration of his identity is hinted at by the chapter’s title, and is reinforced by his first true display of reflection and remorse regarding turning against the Starks. GRRM once again using language to convey his narrative on multiple levels. Edit: Wow, and I just now heard the line saying his full name “Theon Greyjoy”- truly powerful that this narration happened in the setting of the godswood, symbolizing he’s perhaps returning to his sense of self as an adopted Stark maybe even more than as a Greyjoy. PS: It’s probably only a coincidence of timing that this posted on the weekend of Easter, and I’m not Christian, but it’s kinda a cool meta coincidence.

[@ahmednahra4256]

It was also in the last Theon chapter

[@RobertP.Trebor]

When I first heard the narrator say Theon last chapter, I was shook.

[@highgrounder2012]

Yes, the narrator started referring to him as theon and saying "he" for all thr things theon did to winterfell in the previous chapter, it was a bit unexpected since in the chapter before that he was completely reek I don't get how it works with the pov style of writing, is it self perception or how characters need to be perceived as like reek (theon), allyne (sansa) and cat of the canals (arya) Only sansa is pretending to be LF daughter, the other two want to believe they're not their former selves

[@SalsaAndChips]

They used his name in the last chapter and possibly the chapter before that as well. Sorry lol

[@diegocobosanchez4373]

Hands off Ned's bones, you Ryswell backstabber!! Your lover and your husband both loved Eddard, they would be ashamed at what you're doing and aiming for!! If you still side with Roose by the time the wolves come again, you will die a traitor's death!!! PS: Thanks for this chapter, mr. David!!

[@renaigh]

I feel for Lady Dustin, no matter our connection as readers, the Starks have been her Bane for a long time.

[@jimboslice6367]

I don’t feel for her at all. Bitter old Lady...of course you come when your Lord calls his banners. Ned not bringing back her husbands bones is just nitpicking

[@napolien1310]

@@jimboslice6367 I don't get the one where you said a bannerman should come to his lord because throat what happened and she was fine with it, she just asked her husband to send his uncle or someone else instead of him. not really, Ned should have brought all the bones of those who rode with him to the tower of joy they were nobles after all.

[@jimboslice6367]

@@napolien1310 that is till nitpicking and no reason to betray her liege lord

[@Argos-xb8ek]

@@jimboslice6367 Petty yes but I can't exactly blame her.

[@KabbalahSherry]

@@jimboslice6367 - Nah, I don't blame her a bit. I'd be bitter & pissy about all of this if it were me. Just keeping it 💯 Ned was selfish asking his friends to come "rescue" his sister, after they had JUST barely survived Robert's war. There was zero proof that Lyanna had been kidnapped. They just couldn't imagine their perfect, precious Stark daughter actually running away w/her secret lover. They couldn't imagine her even having a secret lover to begin with. But all the signs were there. Oh well. lol

[@BloodyFoxDK]

She is more then welcome to try and take Ned bones from Howland Reed when he rides north.

[@SBGClub-pi7tk]

Lady Dustin was right. Her AND Theon WANTED to be Starks but both were set aside. Like they weren’t good enough.

[@franciscovega2042]

There's a space ship under Winterfell.

[@ramonoctaviofloresmeza6780]

I wonder If the northmen who heard the jeyne's cries has considered the Ned Stark's bastard son much more worthy of Winterfell than the Roose Bolton's legitimated bastard?

[@gangstapenguin2773]

Alys Karstark calls Jon Snow “the last son of Eddard Stark” (or something to that effect). While a sample size of 1, it could reflect the sentiment of much of the North

[@PedroLucas-mg5je]

If the last deeds of Ramsay didn't convinced them of It, then I don't know what will!

[@chrisfain7244]

‘Tis a sad day, I finally caught up with you. I knew this day was coming, even slowed down a little to prolong it, but here we are. Great job as always

[@theprimo100]

I'm probably full of shit, but I'm starting to think the singer and the washer women are Mance and some spearwives. Maybe it's because it sound like you used the same accent you use for wildlings.

[@highgrounder2012]

Well I was confused with the accent at first too and thought I'd be that character from the show ramsey liked and that is dave's choice since it wasn't stated what kind of accent it is, but the real hint is the singer changing the words of the dornishman' wife to the "the northman's daughter" and we all know how fond mance is of this song and the legend of the king beyond the wall who took a stark's daughter and made her with child

[@mohammadahmad9258]

No shit, Sherlock

[@georgiamackinlay5706]

Yes it is lol

[@dominicmccullough6133]

Blood raven ruling the 7 kingdoms sounds very interesting

[@basedchimera5859]

I'm hoping we see Jeyne using Aryas identity to reak havoc in winds. This girl needs justice

[@EnderWarden]

Its gonna get worse for her. She already has frostbite. Jon won't feel as obligated to help Jeyne as he would've for Arya. He may even set her aside.

[@mschell8022]

@@EnderWarden So you think Jon, who is jumping through hoops to defend wildlings right now, wouldn't care about a totally helpless, abused young girl? Are we even reading the same book?? Wtf

[@EnderWarden]

​@@mschell8022 Well the wildlings can be helpful to him against the dead. Not saying hes being selfish but there is a gain to helping them. Would Jon be as helpful to Jeyne as she would need him to be as he would with Arya is the question. Jon was close with arya and not Jeyne. Jon never once thought about Jeyne in his povs. He was also murdered by his own brothers so there's that as well. With the boltons and the dead both on the march, Jon will have a lot on his plate. A steward's girl he hardly knew is not high priority amid all the shite hes dealing with right now. He may send Jeyne somewhere he believes safe (or take her with him idk), but im not sure he'll defend her as much as he would with Arya.

[@renaigh]

@@EnderWarden she's nowhere near Jon

[@EnderWarden]

@@renaigh She's headed to castle black.

[@jordanlangford6791]

Thank you Dave!! Truly

[@mschell8022]

I feel like George is really trying to tell us that Barbery Dustin is smart and someone to be cautious of at 33:14 It's like he's making it really obvious that Barbery Dustin can think ahead of the game. She knows how to get knowledge of a person before asking them for something you want. That's playing the political game.

[@hanimeisbest]

I just realized who the singer is took me awhile

[@alsharpe7213]

Happy Easter to all you Hedge Knights nobles and trees with bloody eyes! I hope you all broke your fasts with boiled eggs and salt beef.. Thanks Dave for another great chapter!

[@highgrounder2012]

True enough, lady Dustin is bitter about not getting to be a stark hating the maesters for the notion they gave lord rickard of marrying his son to a southern lady of the riverlands

[@justinflores974]

I know that this isn't the right chapter to bring this up but I've been wanting to ask for a while. What's your opinion on the theory that Tywin setup jeyne westerling to marry robb? I think it's very likely

[@thegrimmarcher202]

*Defenatly*

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

One thing I always ask myself about any fan theory is: how does this serve the themes? How does it speak to George's belief that "the human heart in conflict with itself is the only thing worth writing about?" For example, "Tyrion is secretly a Targaryen and Tywin knew!" is a bad theory in my view because while that twist might help move pieces into place for Tyrion to be one of the "three heads of the dragon," it does not build on the themes of Tyrion's character arc, and in fact undermines some of them. Tywin hated Tyrion because of a horrible mingling of pride and grief and rage and maybe a little bit of self-loathing as well. If we learn that he ACTUALLY resented Tyrion because he was another man's son......... what's the point? With this theory I feel kind of similar. Robb sleeping with and marrying Jeyne serves the themes we've seen about the perils and promises of earnestly practiced aristocratic honor, and how bizarre and horrible it is that there are teenaged boys who are kings commanding armies. If Tywin was behind it all, and Robb would have succeeded were it not for the fact that Tywin engineered his worst mistakes from the beginning, what does that do for the story? Make Tywin more imposing and dreadful? A Feast for Crows devoted several chapters to puncturing and deflating the SuperTywin image that he projected onto the world, so I think that's unlikely (I might well be missing some other more interesting implications though). To me, the assumptions we have without that theory - that Lady Sybelle and Tywin coordinated to make the consequences of Robb's fatal jejeune mitake genuinely fatal - is more compelling when considered alongside the themes of the series.

[@dablackangel]

@@DavidReadsASoIaF plus I think with Robb... it's that theme of him being stupidly honourable, like Ned. And how his honour got in the way of him playing the Game of Thrones. If it was all Tywin's plan... it kind of takes away from that aspect of it. That's how I see it anyway.

[@basedchimera5859]

@@DavidReadsASoIaF do you think Tyrion Targaryen works in the sense that Jon's father is Ned Stark because that was Jon's father figure and the person Jon tries to emulate. Which adds to the theme that your genetics don't matter: it's your memories that make a person

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

Perhaps, but I think the near certain R+L = J twist will serve Jon's character development much more directly. Realizing that, from the very beginning, he was loved and wanted desperately, in contrast to everything he and his culture know about "bastards," and that his "father" sacrificed his honor and arguablty his own marital happiness to keep him safe from harm (which, as you say, makes him just as much if not more a father to Jon than Rhaegar) has way way way way way more to tell us about who Jon is and where he might go from here than Tywin not being Tyrion's father. That would certainly raise the mystery of why didn't Tywin just drop him down a well (whereas in a universe where Tywin was his father the reasons for that are obvious), and I just don't see the answer as being very relevant or even interesting. I also think that since Tyrion's internal struggle is in part defined by a fight between the side of him that is Tywin's son and heir, and the side of him that has a soft spot for cripples, bastards, and broken things, that removing the threat of "genetics and family is destiny" would make that internal struggle less dramatic.

[@Dan-fy5fh]

Just dropping in to show my love and appreciation for all your hard work David! I’ve been listening to your audiobooks since Clash of Kings and am currently listening to Feast and Dance side by side in the Boiled Leather ordering. The books are so amazing and so much improved by your reading! After this I’ll listen to dunk and egg, then give fire and blood a read. I’m hoping by then winds of winter will have been released by the time I’m finished with all this!

[@theinvisiblewoman6783]

Poor Theon.

[@COLUMBUSISBACK]

Yesssss this is one of my favorite chapters in dance - I love going to Bolton occupied winterfell and I love going to Stannis's camp as well

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

My favorite POV in Dance by a country mile. The moody gothic horror stuff, the absolutely stacked cast of characters, the saving a damsel in distress from the tower where a wicked lord has imprisoned her, it is as good as this series gets.

[@dominicmccullough6133]

How’d snow beard reign for 100 years?

[@nickienickie6362]

First time going through the books. They're so good! But this WHOLE TIME through ADWD I keep thinking WHAT ABOUT ARYA?! And WHAT HAPPENED WITH CERSEI?!?!?!? 😫😫

[@danielbernatt8362]

You’re the best thank you!

[@マリー-v4p]

Why does Dustin want to protect “Arya” when she hates the Starks? Obviously as she says it’s politically good for the Boltons but she doesn’t seem to really care about that.

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

Lady Dustin is kind of mysterious, because she's so open about some stuff that you'd expect her to keep private, but also keeps other cards close to her chest and seems to want contradictory things. I think it's possible she hates NED Stark but would be fine seeing the Boltons fall as long as her position remained secure (no reason to assume it wouldn't - she's tied to the Boltons through distant marriage relations and is doing her duty; she lost men at the red wedding and never betrayed the starks like Roose did). Ned got her husband killed, and dishonored his remains, but Ramsay actually MURDERED Bolton's son, whom Lady Dustin seemed to have some maternal affection for.

[@マリー-v4p]

@@DavidReadsASoIaF wow, thanks for your reply. I’m so into these later Theon chapters I looked around and there’s evidence she’s part of the northern conspiracy working to take the boltons down from the inside. As you imply, what she tells Theon is probably very intentional.

[@jamesmullen3068]

It will be amazing to see how George intends to conclude this story arch. If there will be any redemption for the turn cloak, or only more pain. I have to imagine that the resolution devised by the show runners is less nuanced.

[@mattboyle6544]

I’ve been wondering about the bones since I first read this book a decade ago and I still don’t get it. It seems like Dustin is going way out of her way for them if it’s just about desecrating his remains and disrespecting his legacy. But it could be nothing idk

[@renaigh]

Ned didn't bring her husbands from Dorne, so she sees it fitting that Ned's bones never make it either.

[@mattboyle6544]

What? I’ll admit I can’t recall what you’re talking about

[@renaigh]

@@mattboyle6544 you literally posted the comment above...

[@iamsheel]

I hate the whispering characters

[@joshosborne683]

Even ramsay snow can't ruin dogs!

[@ciandryl]

I love lady barbrey 😢

[@kyleholtz6634]

He is one of them

[@kurg2650]

Why do you only speak loud enough for your cat to hear?!!

[@benjiowen8433]

Thanks Dave!

[@cjshaw3875]

So... where did the longsword go?

[@DavidReadsASoIaF]

Some combination of bran and Osha and Hodor and the Reeds took them when thye were hiding! After I recorded this chapter, I did some fan theory reading about Barbrey Dustin, and saw the intriguing (and believeable, if not watertight) claim that Lady Dustin had been told that the Stark boys were still alive, and that the visit might have been more about confirming, through the missing swords, than meditating on her grievances. Nwo that I type it out though, how would anyone know the stark boys hid in the crypts? Wex couldn't have known that....... You know what? Nevermind lol

[@brettthebest3978]

@@DavidReadsASoIaF actually remember wex was on the tree and probably heard what bran’s group said So he will know they came from the crypts bc they said that’s where they hid Wex would also say that they were holding swords.......

[@ythandlename]

@@brettthebest3978 The evidence is believable because Wex is a ironborn survivor who is technically the North's enemy but it makes him a believable witness since he has nothing to gain from telling a fake story that can be proven. The Boltons and the Ironborn don't know and care about Winterfell's crypts and have not been down there so snow has building up on it's entrance so there is no chance it could be fabricated. If Wex described to them the Stark boys and their companions with the amount of rusted swords, all they have to do is go down to those crypts, count the number of rusted swords that are missing to confirm that the right people who have a reason to be down there and the proof taken from the crypts is enough evidence to convince the lords of the story's verification. It's enough reason to believe most of what Wex would say meaning he would make a good casus belli for all the Northern lords to rebel against the Boltons.

[@SchnellVITALVINYLVLOG]

Stoked

[@Augie100]

Goat

[@wolfmoon9816]

Hello ?

[@fazediamond5671]

Dam ned